He will be better off than that girl who won this year.

I'll make it up to him by kissing anywhere on his body and baking him a nice sponge.

 

Can I have him after you're done and save me a slice of cake?

No shock there at all and I can't say I'll lose any sleep over the decision :P

I knew it would happen, but I didn't expect it that soon. Mind you, I knew there'd be nothing else released off this album and I'm not entirely sure we'll even be hearing from him again, except for maybe a very low key independently released second album (ala... I hate to say it, but Steve Brookstein).

I knew it would happen, but I didn't expect it that soon. Mind you, I knew there'd be nothing else released off this album and I'm not entirely sure we'll even be hearing from him again, except for maybe a very low key independently released second album (ala... I hate to say it, but Steve Brookstein).

It's all a bit ridiculous really. I'm not a fan by any means but after a fairly decent selling album in this age, it makes The X Factor lose a lot of integrity. Essentially if Simon doesn't like the winner, all he'll give you is one album from that artist.

 

It's really quite unfair for Ben, he was hardly given any sort of push at all. Depending on how well 'More & More' does, I'll find it interesting to see what will happen to Fleur. While it was a great success, I personally don't think Sax's sales match the push it was given.

Yes what Froot said :)

Syco really showing they stick with their artists. The album is on sale about 4 months and this is what happens. This annoys me as its the same thing occurring for the winners and Simon is wondering why people are losing interest in the X Factor. Ben had a very decent album that deserved far more backing.

I don't think they really wanted him in the first place, it feels like they just gave him the contract because they had to and he didn't really sell well enough for them to even bother a second time. It's a bit unfair really, especially given how much of a push Fleur got, I guess they just really don't wanna handle artists like Ben anymore as...they don't really know how, I mean you can tell so clearly in the last series that they were REALLY doing everything they could to get the over 25 acts out of the picture.

Edited January 28, 20169 yr by Chez Wombat

It's funny because for some reason there did seem to actually be some sort of audience for Ben, not a huge one - but big enough to sustain a career. And Heart and Radio 2 played his song quite a lot and a 70k selling album in a couple of months is nothing to turn your nose up at in this climate.

 

Had they put just a bit more time and effort into pushing him as an artist, I'm sure he could have been one of their more successful winners.

(My thoughts on this are a little unclear as I agree with contrasting points here, but thought I'd try make sense of them anyway!)

 

I think it's a shame for Ben that Syco aren't more invested in his artistic development and willing to give him further opportunities, especially as he'll likely now go down as yet another forgotten winner who failed to take off. The whole thing reflects terribly on X Factor's brand when last year's winner gets a single, an album, a performance slot or two on the show and is dropped before January's out. On top of that, (though I'm not a fan and haven't listened to the album) Ben's always seemed like a lovely guy with a lot of charisma and talent so it's definitely a regrettable situation.

 

I do think though that the label's taking too much of the blame/responsibility here. Ben had a year to make connections and collaborate with industry experts, producers etc. to work out his sound and target market, and ultimately what was delivered was confused and sub-par - one look at the album cover could tell you there was no clear vision. The industry's vicious and as a big-label act you need to know exactly what you're about as an artist and that needs to connect with an audience. Being a nice guy with a great voice and a catchy pop song isn't always enough for a viable career, and unfortunately everything's pointing to him lacking marketability after receiving significant investment and promotion, so there's not exactly a strong argument to keep him on.

(My thoughts on this are a little unclear as I agree with contrasting points here, but thought I'd try make sense of them anyway!)

 

I think it's a shame for Ben that Syco aren't more invested in his artistic development and willing to give him further opportunities, especially as he'll likely now go down as yet another forgotten winner who failed to take off. The whole thing reflects terribly on X Factor's brand when last year's winner gets a single, an album, a performance slot or two on the show and is dropped before January's out. On top of that, (though I'm not a fan and haven't listened to the album) Ben's always seemed like a lovely guy with a lot of charisma and talent so it's definitely a regrettable situation.

 

I do think though that the label's taking too much of the blame/responsibility here. Ben had a year to make connections and collaborate with industry experts, producers etc. to work out his sound and target market, and ultimately what was delivered was confused and sub-par - one look at the album cover could tell you there was no clear vision. The industry's vicious and as a big-label act you need to know exactly what you're about as an artist and that needs to connect with an audience. Being a nice guy with a great voice and a catchy pop song isn't always enough for a viable career, and unfortunately everything's pointing to him lacking marketability after receiving significant investment and promotion, so there's not exactly a strong argument to keep him on.

You can't really say that when you haven't listened to the actual album surely? :lol: He made an album that fitted in with his personality and skills as an artist and it flows well and is a very cohesive sounding album. The artwork for it was a bit iffy but that doesn't make the whole thing a disaster.

You can't really say that when you haven't listened to the actual album surely? :lol: He made an album that fitted in with his personality and skills as an artist and it flows well and is a very cohesive sounding album. The artwork for it was a bit iffy but that doesn't make the whole thing a disaster.

I meant that more on a superficial level, i.e. the artwork and lead single. It didn't give me a sense at all of who he is as an artist or who his target market is. You're right, I can't comment on the album itself and didn't intend to.

Edited January 28, 20169 yr by Noahspike

I thought SHH was a good indication of his sound, pop-rock radio friendly music. The biting of his lip on the album art was bad, but I don't see how it makes him look

like he had no idea who he was as an artist. There is a cohesive look in all the images from the album, which is what matters. It's not like he was plastered looking like

a hip hop type artist, he looks like a nice normal guy, which he is.

 

I'm biased though :kink:

I thought SHH was a good indication of his sound, pop-rock radio friendly music. The biting of his lip on the album art was bad, but I don't see how it makes him look

like he had no idea who he was as an artist. There is a cohesive look in all the images from the album, which is what matters. It's not like he was plastered looking like

a hip hop type artist, he looks like a nice normal guy, which he is.

 

I'm biased though :kink:

I found the song quite bland and it indicated to me that he wasn't bringing anything new or interesting to the table - his act lacked a USP, essentially. And the artwork was so cheap-looking, with the whole concept (or lack thereof) and font looking far more suited to a single release from a shit teen act like Elyar Fox *shudders*, when the music/Kelly Clarkson feature was saying otherwise.

Edited January 29, 20169 yr by Noahspike

None of the other winners have brought anything new to the table either though :lol: I think SHH is the perfect kind of song for him.

I can agree to an extent with the artwork, but its grown on me, it's bold and stands out and he looks dman fine on the single cover and every other shot bar the [album cover one. The artworks are miles better than Fleur's.

Some of the news pages are saying Slamming Doors was the second single that failed, since when?! :huh:

Isn't that the one he did a horrendous performance of on the X Factor final, when Digital Spy were like "is this is the worst X Factor performance ever?", he did it randomly mashed up with Leona's Run and did that terrible note at the end :lol: I don't know if it was an actual single but I assume it was meant to be, if they weren't trying with a second single I doubt they'd have given him a performance, but there doesn't seem to be a video for it so they didn't try that hard.... Tbf that does seem a tad unfair, they're dropping him because it didn't catch on from X Factor, unless it was also sent to radio and didn't catch on then fair enough I guess but if SHH didn't catch on with radio then Sliding Doors was never going to and there was certainly no surprise it bombed on itunes after that performance! But you can't expect it to be a hit off one performance necessarily anyway.

 

Fundamenally as much as I might be biased, I just don't think he should have won though. He's not that talented and it's not like average white males singing radio fodder (that doesn't even get used by radios...) aren't 10 a penny. Although I guess being 10 a penny doesn't stop many acts being successful :lol:

(My thoughts on this are a little unclear as I agree with contrasting points here, but thought I'd try make sense of them anyway!)

 

I think it's a shame for Ben that Syco aren't more invested in his artistic development and willing to give him further opportunities, especially as he'll likely now go down as yet another forgotten winner who failed to take off. The whole thing reflects terribly on X Factor's brand when last year's winner gets a single, an album, a performance slot or two on the show and is dropped before January's out. On top of that, (though I'm not a fan and haven't listened to the album) Ben's always seemed like a lovely guy with a lot of charisma and talent so it's definitely a regrettable situation.

 

I do think though that the label's taking too much of the blame/responsibility here. Ben had a year to make connections and collaborate with industry experts, producers etc. to work out his sound and target market, and ultimately what was delivered was confused and sub-par - one look at the album cover could tell you there was no clear vision. The industry's vicious and as a big-label act you need to know exactly what you're about as an artist and that needs to connect with an audience. Being a nice guy with a great voice and a catchy pop song isn't always enough for a viable career, and unfortunately everything's pointing to him lacking marketability after receiving significant investment and promotion, so there's not exactly a strong argument to keep him on.

His ability to make his own contacts may well have been constrained by the terms of his contract. His best hope is that he can get a deal which allows him to express himself more.

 

This whole episode just makes an even bigger joke of the whole X-Factor format. Cowell is paid substantial sums of money by ITV, yet the whole programme is about finding artists who will make him even more money. The audience spend cash voting (and, presumably some of that also makes its way into Cowell's coffers), but their choice will be ignored if Cowell doesn't agree with it.

His ability to make his own contacts may well have been constrained by the terms of his contract. His best hope is that he can get a deal which allows him to express himself more.

 

This whole episode just makes an even bigger joke of the whole X-Factor format. Cowell is paid substantial sums of money by ITV, yet the whole programme is about finding artists who will make him even more money. The audience spend cash voting (and, presumably some of that also makes its way into Cowell's coffers), but their choice will be ignored if Cowell doesn't agree with it.

Sure, there would have been constraints, but then you and others have implied that Cowell and Syco weren't interested in him from the beginning, so it's unlikely that they'd had a strict artistic template for him that significantly infringed on his freedom and creativity (and in terms of money, he'll surely be more constrained at a smaller label). I don't buy the idea that they were simply going through the motions with him for a year - it's completely in their interests to make a success out of the show's winner, even if he wasn't a Cowell favourite or a very obvious cash cow. I don't see why Ben wouldn't have had a strong say from the start in realising his own musical/artistic vision, with them sourcing the means to do so (within the limitations of his contract of course).

 

I just think what was proposed in the end wasn't engaging enough to catch on, and part of the responsibility for that should rest on Ben himself as well as the label.